Conventional fishing lures typically are unitary lure bodies which are secured to the fishing line intermediate the hook and the fishing pole. These lures are constructed in numerous shapes, colors, etc. to attract fish which mistakenly identify the lure as food and strike thereat. The fish then, hopefully, becomes ensnared on the hook.
However, many of these lures have a significant drawback when the hook is attached to and extends outwardly of the lure body. These hooks can retard the passage of the lure and hook through the water since typical hooks have a crook and barb which can snag on weeds or debris in the water and thus become entangled. The fisherman must then disentangle the hook or give up the hook and possibly the lure if it is hopelessly entangled. The loss of numerous lures can become expensive, and thus a fisherman may spend considerable time attempting to recover the entangled hook and lure. Yet, such action impinges on the time the fisherman could actually be fishing. In any event, the fisherman must take the time to completely reattach a new lure or the recovered, and possibly damaged, lure on his line in order to continue fishing.
As a result, it is desirable to have a hook releasably attached to the lure body, wherein the hook is retracted during casting and is released upon a fish biting the lure body. The hook is initially concealed by the lure body to assist in preventing the hook from becoming entangled in debris and/or weeds. These lures are commonly called "weedless" lures. Examples of such fishing lures are found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,345,173, 1,434,204, 1,808,565, 3,497,985, 3,818,626, 4,782,618, 5,161,323, and 5,440,830.
For example, one prior weedless lure includes a spring finger cantilevered to the hook, which spring finger engages the lure body to hold the hook therein. When a fish strikes such a lure it engages the lure body in a retracted position to such an extent that it overcomes the holding force generated by the spring finger and releases the hook from the lure body. The fish is now ensnared, i.e., "hooked", on the hook which is free from the lure body. However, the force generated by the spring finger is a fixed force depending on the resilience of the finger and the size of the cavity in which it is placed.
A further drawback of this prior weedless fishing lure is the lure body only has a single passage for receiving both the hook and the fishing line. Thus, intricate and precise threading of the fishing line is required for the weedless fishing lure to operate correctly. More specifically, the fishing line must be threaded to pass along one side of a pin so that the hook and attached fishing line pass an opposite side of the pin. That is, the fishing line turns 180 degrees around the pin when the hook is mounted within the lure body. This can be a significant difficulty for those fishermen without a steady hand or who fish in relatively cold temperatures which can significantly reduce finger dexterity.
A further drawback of some prior fishing lures is a relatively complex coiled spring structure for releasing the hook from the lure body. Such structures are difficult to set and an incorrect setting of the spring structure can result in loss of a fish do to jamming at the time the fish strikes and nonrelease of the hook. An incorrect setting can also result in a premature release of the spring and hence the hook so that the assembled lure is no longer weedless as the hook is free of the lure body before a fish has struck and can entangle in debris.
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a weedless fishing lure including an adjustable tensioning mechanism which secures the hook to the lure body until struck by a fish. Such a tensioning mechanism is movably secured to the lure body for adjusting the tension holding the hook in the lure body. It is a further object of the invention to provide a fishing lure with a passage for receiving the fishing line therethrough and a separate channel in which the hook is mounted.
Other objects and purposes of the invention will be apparent to persons familiar with devices of this general type upon reading the specification and inspecting the accompanying drawings.